Chapter 2 of The boys of Columbia High on the diamond is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The boys of Columbia High on the diamond is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement. “What shall we do? We can’t just float down like this. It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine. “We’ve just got to swim for it, that’s all!
Chapter 2 of The boys of Columbia High on the diamond is here in full — 128 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
a formal public statement
From this reading “A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.”
-ing form of “coddle” — treat with excessive indulgence
From this reading “A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.”
causing dejection
From this reading “A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.”
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading “We can’t just float down like this.”
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading “A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.”
plural of “throat” — the passage to the stomach and lungs; in the front part of the neck below the chin and above the collarbone
From this reading “A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.”
move with a whining sound
From this reading “It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.”
inflected form of “whip” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading “It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “We can’t just float down like this.”
move upward
In this reading “A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “We’ve just got to swim for it, that’s all!
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
a formal public statement
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We can’t just float down like this.
-ing form of “coddle” — treat with excessive indulgence
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
causing dejection
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What shall we do?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading We can’t just float down like this.
be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading We can’t just float down like this.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “We’ve just got to swim for it, that’s all!
an utterance expressing pain or disapproval
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
a small worthless amount
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
and nothing more
From this reading We can’t just float down like this.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading We can’t just float down like this.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
participate in games or sport
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “What shall we do?
travel through water
From this reading “We’ve just got to swim for it, that’s all!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ve just got to swim for it, that’s all!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
plural of “throat” — the passage to the stomach and lungs; in the front part of the neck below the chin and above the collarbone
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “What shall we do?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ve just got to swim for it, that’s all!
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A WARM BEGINNING FOR CODDLING A groan went up from full twenty throats, at this dismal announcement.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What shall we do?
move with a whining sound
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
inflected form of “whip” — beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would look as if we were whipped before we began to play!” sang out Jack Comfort, almost in a whine.
Chapter 2 of The boys of Columbia High on the diamond by Graham B. Forbes holds 128 sentences, grouped into 26 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 2 holds 128 sentences of The boys of Columbia High on the diamond, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The boys of Columbia High on the diamond by Graham B. Forbes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 128 sentences, grouped into 26 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 2 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The boys of Columbia High on the diamond, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
